2018 Nissan Qashqai could debut autonomous tech in Australia

The facelifted 2018 Nissan Qashqai could debut the company’s ProPilot semi-autonomous driving technologies when it arrives here early next year.

Richard Emery, Nissan Australia’s managing director and CEO, told CarAdvice at the local launch of the updated 2017 X-Trail range that, while not confirmed for our market yet, the driver assistance systems could be offered here with the updated crossover.

“We’re still working on its calibration,” he said.

“Every market that the car is potentially going into needs to have that calibration and testing undertaken to make sure that there’s a reliable road infrastructure to make it work properly”.

“Certainly it is going to be available on Qashqai, now the task is to make sure that it can be calibrated for every market that it becomes available,” he added.

Such systems would give Nissan a point of difference in the mainstream market, as semi-autonomous driving technologies are generally reserved for high-end luxury vehicles.

“It’s not definitive at this point, but obviously it’s something that we would like,” he said.

Meanwhile, the availability of a semi-premium flagship Qashqai to take on the Audi Q2 and Mercedes-Benz GLA hasn’t been considered yet – like the plush Tekna+ variant that will be offered in Europe and the UK.

“[We] haven’t thought that far ahead to be honest,” Emery said.

The updated 2018 Nissan Qashqai is due to land in Australia in “early 2018”, with specific timing, pricing and specifications to be confirmed closer to launch.